Packaging mechanisms for textile machines



Dec. 16, 1969 J. P. DAVIES 3,434,050

PACKAGING MECHANISMS FOR TEXTILE MACHINES Filed Sept. 25, 1967 5 s t s 1 24\, 14 f U U 70 5 J Dec. 16, 1969 J. P. DAVIES 3,484,050

PACKAGING MECHANISMS FOR TEXTILE MACHINES Filed Sept. 25, 1967 3 Sheets-Shae 2 Dec. 16, 1969 J. P. DAVIES 3,484,050

PACKAGING MECHANISMS FOR TEXTILE MACHINES Filed Sept. 25, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet :5

PRE SSURE FLUID H 5 5 3,484,050 PACKAGING MECHANISMS FOR TEXTILE MACHINES John Peter Davies, Marple, England, assignor to Ernest Scragg & Sons Limited, Macclesfield, England, a mish company Filed Sept. 25, 1967, Ser. No. 670,265

Claims priority, application Great Britain, Oct. 6, 1966,

44,761/ 66 Int. Cl. B6511 54/32 US. Cl. 242-26.3 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE switches which are themselves adjustable parallel to the mount.

This invention comprises improvements in or relating to packaging mechanisms for textile machines in which yarn is wound on to a rotatively-driven former under control of a guide reciprocable lengthwise of the former which may for example be a plain cylindrical tube, or a bobbin which is flanged at one end only or at both ends. Such a packaging mechanism will be referred to as a packaging mechanism as specified.

In order to make it possible to produce different types of package, it is necessary to be able to select the Way in which either the length of traverse of the guide lengthwise of the former or the lengthwise disposition of the path transversed relatively to the former, or both, are varied during the wind.

According to this invention a packaging mechanism as specified has the length of traverse of the guide determined by a pair of limit switches of which at least one is adjustable along a mount which in operation of the mechanism is itself progressively adjustable sensibly parallel to the adjustment of the limit switch.

The extent of displacement of the mount in operation may itself be determined by pre-settable limit or stop switches, the mount being movable between its limit or stop switches either backwards and forwards as by a reversible motor, or in very short steps in a given direction between the switches.

Preferably, both limit switches for determining the length of traverse of the guide are adjustably supported on the mount, and preferably also one at least of these limit switches is capable of being rendered inoperative.

With apparatus according to the invention it is possible to build many variations of several types of yarn package on a single textile machine.

Usually, a textile machine has a large number of winding stations, the traversing or ring guides being movable together. The traversing control in this case will usually be actuated by a member connected to move in unison with the guides and will aifect the drive for this member. For instance, in a ring spinning machine, the control may be actuated by movements of the ring rail, that is the member carrying the ring guides for the travellers, and affect the drive for the rail.

The limit switches can be electric switches, or they can be hydraulic or pneumatic switches.

nited States Patent 0 The accompanying diagrammatic sketches illustrate a form of packaging mechanism of this invention and some forms of package which can be produced with it.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 illustrates a form of control,

FIGURES 2a, 3a, 4a and 5a illustrate, schematically, different paths of traverse; and FIGURES 2b, 3b, 4b and 5b illustrate the forms of packages formed by 2a, 3a, 4a and 5a, respectively.

FIG. 6 shows diagrammatically the control applied to a ring spinning machine.

The packaging control mechanism illustrated in FIG. 1 controls the reciprocating movement of a member 10 in the direction of arrows 11. The member 10 may for instance be the ring rail of a ring spinning machine, or a reciprocating member by which the traversing yarn guides of other types of textile machine are moved backwards and forwards lengthwise of the packages.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 6, the member 10 is the ring rail of a ring spinning machine. The rail 10 is raised by a pressure-fiuid-operated ram 30 whereof the piston rod 31 is connected to the rail 10 by a chain 32 running over sprockets 33. The rail 10 is lowered by its own weight, the ram being connected to exhaust to allow this. The pressure fluid supply is controlled by reversing Valve 34 which is under control of the packaging control mechnism indicated at 35.

The rail 10 carries a plurality of ring guides 36 for the travellers 36a. The ring guides 36 are reciprocated by the movements of the rail lengthwise of packages 37 each of which is mounted on a rotating spindle. The spindle is mounted in a bolster 38 secured on a spindle rail 39 and carries a whorl 40 contacted by a driving belt 41. The yarn to be Wound on the package 37 is drawn from a supply package 42 and passes over the usual guides.

The packaging control mechanism comprises a pair of limit switches 12, 13 which are carried by strikers 14, 15 adjustable along a mount 16 and are capable of being locked to the mount by set screws 17 so as to determine the spacing of the limit switch contacts. The limit switches 12, 13 are actuated by the member 10, or by a part which moves in unison with the member.

The mount 16 is displaceable lengthwise of itself by a lead screw 18 which is rotatively driven by a motor 19. The mount 16 has associated with it a pair of limit switches 20, 21 on carriers 22, 23 respectively, the spacing of which lengthwise of the mount 16 can be selected by adjusting the carriers along a bar 24 and locking them in position by set screws 25. The limit switches 20, 21 are actuated by the strikers 14, 15 respectively.

The carrier 23 also has mounted on it a limit switch 26 which can be actuated by the ring rail or other member 10.

The motor 19 may conveniently be a reversible motor which can move continuously, or stepwise under control of a pulse generating unit 27.

The control mechanism just described enables various forms of package to be wound on one machine.

For instance in order to wind a wander cop (FIG. 2b), the desired length of traverse of the member 10 is selected by adjusting limit switches 12, 13 along the mount 16 to correspond to the length L (FIG. 2a), and by ad justing the carriers 22, 23 to permit a reciprocation of the mount 16 equal to distance I. The switches 12, 13 are set to reverse the direction of travel of the member 10 and the switches 20, 21 are set to reverse the running direction of the motor 19. The motor may either run continuously, or be moved stepwise in which case one or each of the switches 12, 13 may also be arranged to energise the unit 27 so that at each such energization the motor is stepped in the appropriate direction by a number of pulses from the unit 27 depending upon the desired number of reciprocations of the member 10 per cycle of the mount 16.

In order to wind a bottle bobbin (FIG. 3b), the setup is as for winding a wander cop, except that the limit switch 13 is rendered inoperative and physically moved (as by swivelling on the mount 16) out of the path of the member 10, and reversals of the member 10 and energisation of the motor are effected at the corresponding end of travel of the member 10 by the limit switch 26. Thus although the position, lengthwise of the bobbin, at which reversal of member 10 occurs varies cyclically over a disstance l, the reversals at the flanged end of the former occur at the same lengthwise position. In this case the yarn guide has a length of travel which varies cyclically between the distances L and L+l.

In winding on a double-flange bobbin (FIG. 4b), the motor 19 can be rendered inoperative and the winding controlled by limit switches 12, 13 alone to give a traverse L (FIG. 4a) equal to the length between the flanges. Al-' ternatively in order to avoid build-up of the yarn into ridges adjacent the flanges of the bobbin, the mount 16' can be moved by the motor cyclically through a short distance so that the reversal points vary cyclically over a distance r (FIG. 4a); in this operation the control setup is as for a wander cop except that the wander is very much less.

In order to effect pirn winding, the switches 12, 13 are set to give the member 10 a travel 1 (FIG. 5a) substantially less than the length L of the former (FIG. 5b), and at each actuation of say switch 13, the pulse unit 27 is brought into operation to control the motor 19 so as to advance the mount 16 a very small distance from one limit of its movement towards the other.

When the member 10 is moved hydraulically as by a reversible ram, the active limit switches can energise solenoids controlling hydraulic reversing valves.

I claim:

1. In or for a textile machine, a packaging mechanism of the class having a yarn guide movable to feed yarn to a rotating former or bobbin to form a package, a reciprocating member connected to move with said yarn guide, power means effecting reciprocation of said yarn guide and said reciprocating member and a control mechanism including limit switches connected to control the power means and actuated by said reciprocating member; a construction of said control mechanism comprising a mount supported to move parallel to the path of reciprocation of said reciprocating member, a first pair of limit switches carried on said mount to be moved together, said limit switches being independently and selectively settable in position along said mount in the path of the reciprocating member, reversible motor means for moving said mount parallel to said path, and a second pair of limit switches independently and selectively adjustable in position parallel to the direction of movement of the mount, said second pair of limit switches being connected to control reversal of said reversible motor means.

2. A packaging mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is a pair of strikes each carrying a respective one of said first pair of limit switches and each independently and selectively adjustable along and lockable to the mount, the said strikers each actuating a respective one of the second pair of limit switches.

3. A packaging mechanism as claimed in claim 1 having one at least of the said first pair of limit switches also settable in an inoperative setting out of the path of said reciprocating member.

4. A packaging mechanism as claimed in claim 3, wherein there is a further limit switch in the path of said reciprocating member at one end of its travel, the further limit switch being adjustable in position parallel to said path and being rendered operative by rendering inoperative the said one of the limit switches on the mount.

5. A packaging mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein there is a further limit switch in the path of the reciprocating member at one end of its travel, the further limit switch being adjustable in position parallel to said path and being rendered operative by rendering inoperative the said one of the limit switches on the mount.

6. A packaging mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mount is progressively adjusted by the reversible motor means which is continuously driven.

7. A packaging mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mount is moved by the reversible motor means stepwise.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,245,215 4/1966 Graf 242-26.1 XR 3,302,381 2/1967 Pfeifer 242-26.3 XR 3,343,755 9/1967 Waddington 242-26.3 3,370,799 2/1968 Rogers 24226.3 3,406,918 10/1968 Ramcke 24226.3

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner W. H. SCHROEDER, Assistant Examiner 

